The administration of President Bola Tinubu has officially declared that it will not intervene in the ongoing petrol pricing dispute between the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and Dangote Refinery.
Bayo Onanuga, special adviser to the president, disclosed this during a briefing with a journalist in Abuja.
He noted that there was no need for the president’s intervention, stating that the decision aligned with the provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), which grants the NNPCL autonomy as a limited liability company.
Punch reports that Onanuga emphasized that under the deregulated regime, the market, not the government, dictates fuel prices.
His words:
He stressed that the president is more focused on the adoption of cheaper alternative fuels, such as Compressed Natural Gas (CNG).
According to him, CNG offers significant cost savings, with the price per litre currently at N230 compared to PMS, which sells for around N850 per litre.
NNPCL and Dangote Refinery have been involved in a dispute over petrol pricing, with both companies releasing statements countering each other.
Dangote recently criticised NNPC’s decision to announce a petrol price of N898 from his refinery, despite it being cheaper than imported petrol, the details of which remain undisclosed.
TimesNow.com.ng earlier reported that 11Plc, TotalEnergies, AA Rano, and other marketers had started lifting Dangote petrol through the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Trading Limited for distribution to retail outlets nationwide for N765.99 per litre.
On Thursday, September 19, 2024, Tunji Oyebanji, the managing director of 11Plc, confirmed the development.
The new prices were far lower than the N898 per litre NNPCL announced for Dangote petrol when it was lifted from the refinery.
Proofreading by Nkem Ikeke, journalist and copy editor at TimesNow.com.ng.
Source: TimesNow.com.ng
